Horizontally adjustable armrest for invalid wheelchairs



A nl 2, 1968 H. E. KERNES 3,375,066

HORIZONTALLY ADJUSTABLE ARMREST FOR INVALID WHEELCHAIRS Filed Oct. 31,1966 United States Patent Office 3,376,066 Patented Apr. 2, 19683,376,066 HORIZONTALLY ADJUSTABLE ARMREST FOR INVALID WHEELCHAIRS HarmonE. Kernes, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Howmet Corporation, Archbold, Ohio,a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 31, 1966, Ser. No. 590,628 4Claims. (Cl. 297-417) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An invalid wheelchairhaving armrest assemblies which are horizantally adjustable forfacilitating the entering and leaving of the wheelchair from either sidethereof.

Among the desirable features of invalid wheelchalrs is the ability ofchanging the profile of the armrest portion of the wheelchair to enablethe same to be positioned closely adjacent to a desk or table; or incertain instances completely to remove the obstruction presented by thearmrest assembly to permit the invalid to move or be moved laterally offfrom the wheelchair to an adjacent bed or the like without andtransverse obstruction.

An object of the invention is to produce an invalid wheelchair having anarmrest mechanism which enables an invalid to position the armrestmechanism at an intermediate point or position relative to the sideframe of the wheelchair to permit the wheelchair to be rolled under anadjacent desk or table; or at a position completely eliminating andtransverse obstruction allowing the invalid to readily move or be movedlaterally off of the wheelchair seat onto an adjacent bed or the like.

Another object of the invention is to produce an invalid wheelchairhaving a horizontally adjustable armrest assembly which may be readilyand economically manufactured.

The above and other objects of the invention may be achieved by awheelchair having a pair of spaced apart side frame members, each ofsaid side frame members including a vertically disposed front tube, areadwardly spaced vertically extending pusher tube, and a horizontallydisposed tube extending between said front tube and said pusher tubewhich assembly includes a horizont'ally adjust-able armrest frameassembly consisting of an upper generally horizontally disposed armrestframe member including an armrest at substantially elbow heighth whenthe user is seated in the wheelchair, a lower frame member disposed inspaced relation below the upper fram member, and frame meansinterconnecting the upper and lower frame members; bracket means affixedto the pusher tube of the side frame member for slidingly supporting thearmrest frame assembly during horizantal shifting movement; and meansassociated with the seat tube of the side frame for selectivelypositioning the horizontally adjustable armrest frame assembly relativeto the horizontally extending tube.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become readilyapparent from reading the following detailed description of anembodiment of the invention when considered in the light of theacompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an invalid wheelchair assemblyincorporating the concepts of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the wheelchair assembly illustrated inFIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the wheelchairillustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein simil-ar referencenumerals designate similar parts throughout the description, theembodiment of the invention comprises a wheelchair which when not in usemay be folded or compacted to occupy a relatively small amount of space,to make it adapted for storage or traveling purposes. When it is desiredto be used, the wheelchair may be readily unfolded by moving the sideframe elements apart, or away from one another. The wheelchairs of thisgeneral type are well known in the art and reference is made by way ofexample to United States Patent 2,561,616 entitled Convertible WheelChair which issued July 24, 1951.

The improved invalid wheelchair consists primarily of two laterallyspaced side frames A, preferably formed of a metal tubing. Each of theside frames A includes a front vertically dis-posed rail or tube 10 onthe lower end of which is mounted a front caster wheel 12. At the rearof each of the side frames is a vertically disposed pusher rail or tube14 on which a large or drive wheel 16 may be mounted. If desired, theposition of the drive wheel and caster wheels may be reversed, wherebythe drive wheel may be mounted on the front tube 10 and the caster wheelmounted at the bottom of the rear tube 14. A horizontally disposed tube18 is provided by extending the tubing forming the front verticallydisposed tube 10 upwardly and then bending. the tubing rearwardly,forming a bend and welding or otherwise securing the free end thereof tothe rear vertically disposed pusher tube 14.

The two side frame members A are collapsibly or foldably connected toone another by a pair of identical X- braces, the members of which areindicated by 20 and 22. The lower portion of each of the side frame isformed by horizontal bottom tubes 24. The lower ends of the X-bracemembers 20 and 22 are pivoted to the longitudinally extending tubes 24which fit between portions of the respective side frames.

The members 20 and 22 of the X-braces are pivotally connected to eachother at approximately their centers by a suitable pivot bolt 26 andeach member at its top has rigid therewith the longitudinally extendingseat bar or tube 28 to which a flexible seat 30 may be secured. Theupper portions of the rear vertically disposed pusher bar 14- areconnected together by a flexible fabric backrest 32. Further, the rearpusher tubes 14 are slightly inclined rearwardly and at the uppermostfree ends are bent rearwardly to provide handle parts 34 to be graspedto trundle the chair from place to place.

In accordance 'with the invention, a horizantally adjustable armrestframe assembly is provided which consists of an upper generallyhorizontally disposed armrest frame member 36, including a paddedarmrest portion 38 which is at substantially elbow heighth when the useris seated in the wheelchair. A lower frame member 40 is disposed inspaced relation below the upper frame member 36 and vertically extendingframe members 42 and 44 are provided to interconnect the respective endsof the upper and lower frame members 36 and 40, respectively.

A bracket 46 is afiixed to the pusher tube 14 of the side frame member Afor sliding supporting the upper armrest frame member 36 during anyhorizontal shifting movement, as will be explained in greater detailhereinafter.

Another bracket 48 is afiixed to the pusher tube 14 of the side frame Ain spaced relation below the bracket 46. The bracket 48 encircles thelower frame member 40 of the armrest frame assembly and adequatelysupports the frame member 40 during any horizontal shifting movement.

A collar 50 is welded or otherwise secured to the inner peripheralsurface of the lower armrest frame member 40 and is adapted to encircle,either partially or wholly, the tube 18-for sliding engagementtherewith. A'plungermember 52 is adapted to extend through the collar 50to selectively engage apertures 54 which are formed in spaced positionsalong the, upper peripheral surface of the tube "18. The, plunger member52 may typically be comprised of a threaded shaft .which isin threadedengagement with a threaded aperture in the collar 50. Also, the plungermember 52 could be formedof a spring biased shaft which is normallybiased downwardly toward the apertures 54 in the tube 18.

In operation, the armrest frame assembly is normally in the forwardposition illustrated in FIGURE 1. How ever, when the user desires tomove the wheelchair to a desk or table, the plungermember 52 is liftedout of engagement with the frontmost aperture 54 of the tube 18 and thearmrest frame assembly is moved rearwardly, whereupon the upper andlower frame members 36 and 40, respectively, are slidingly supported bythe brackets 46 and 48. The lower framemember 40 is also slidinglysupported by the collar 50. When the plunger member 52 is in alignmentwith the intermediate one of the apertures 54, the plunger member 52 islowered establishing a fixed relationship between the armrest frameassembly and the respective side frame A.

In the event the invalid isdesirous of moving or being moved off fromthe wheelchair, theplunger member 52 is once again raised and thearmrest frame assembly is moved rearwardly until it substantiallyentirely clears the transverse obstruction and the collar 50 abutsagainst the bracket 48, asillustrated in dottectlines in FIGURE 2.

In accordance with-the provisions of the patent statutes I haveexplained the principle and mode of operation of my invention and haveillustrated and described .what I .now consider, to represent its bestembodiment. How- .ever, I desire to have itunderstood that within thescope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwisethan as specifically illustrated anddescribed.

What I claim is:

1. A wheelchair having a pair of spaced apart side frame members, eachof said side framemembers including a vertically disposed front tube, arearwardly spaced vertically extending pusher tube, and a horizontallydisposed tube extending between said front tubeand pusher tube, theimprovement comprising:

A horizontally adjustable armrest frame assembly, said armrest frameassembly consisting of an upper generally horizontally disposed armrestframe member including an armrest at substantially elbow heighth whenthe user is seated in said wheelchair, a lower frame member disposedinspaced relation below said upper frame member, and frame meansinterconnecting said upperand lower frame members;

upper and lower spaced apart bracket members afiixed to the pusher tubeof said side frame member for slidingly supporting the upper and lowerframe members respectively of said armrest frame assembly duringhorizontal shifting movement; and

means associated with the seat tube of said side frame for selectivelypositioning said horizontally adjustable armrest frame assembly relativeto the horizontally extending tube.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said means associated withthe horizontally disposed tube of said side frame assembly includes acollar at least partially encircling said tube, said collar beingfixedly engaged with the lower frame member of said armrest frameassembly.

3. The invention defined in claim 2 wherein said collar is provided witha plunger member extending through an aperture in said collar.

4. The invention defined in claim 3 wherein the horizontally disposedtube extending between the front and pusher tubes of said frame isprovided with a series of longitudinally. spaced apertures for receivingthe inner end of said plungerv means for selective adjustment of saidarmrest frame, assembly relative to a respective one of said side framemembers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,786,214 3/1957 Armstrong 5-3313,104,402 9/ 1963 Johnson 533l 3,140,119 7/1964 Offner 297417 3,179,957"4/ 1965 Norton a- 5331 3,244,453 4/1966 Fox 297-4l6 CASMIR A. NUMBERG,Primary Examiner.

